Honeymoon on the CT?

[Chaco Taco]

Im looking at Late April or early May for a possible hike on the CT for 4-5 days. Will there still be alot of snow??? Is it just a pipedream?

[Shutterbug]

Im looking at Late April or early May for a possible hike on the CT for 4-5 days. Will there still be alot of snow??? Is it just a pipedream?

If you start in Denver and don't hike too fast, you should be ok. You should be able to hike from Denver to Kenosha Pass without too much snow. Once you get past Kenosha Pass, the snow will be more of a problem.

Unless it has changed since I hiked it years ago, the Lost Creek Wilderness will be pretty boggy.

[Chaco Taco]

Yea Im starting to think we may wait to hike this trail until July. May plan it and just delay the honeymoon. Isnt there a good guidebook? Is the guide like the AT ones with town info and shuttle info as well as on trail info?

[Mags]

http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.ph...rail_info.html

Keep in mind, that to Kenosha Pass is only 70 miles as well.

[garlic08]

Definitely, wait until June or July. April is typically one of the snowiest months. May equals ice, mud and high water, even in the foothills.

[Ox97GaMe]

I would also recommend waiting until July. It gives you more options for areas to hike for the few days you will be out there. And you would be able to get in a 14er while you are out there too, if you wanted. For just 5 days, I would highly recommend the section near Leadville; Tennessee Pass to Half Moon Campground, or even Twin Lakes. I loved the campsite at Porcupine Lakes in that section. It also gives you the opportunity to climb Mt Massive and/or Mt Elbert, two of the easiest 14ers in Colorado.

Take some weekend hikes up near Mt Mitchell before you go out there to get better aclimated to the altitude.

[Chaco Taco]

We are going at the end of June into July and doing 5 days. Starting at the Denver side. So I want to know about the guidebokos for the trail. What is the best one to get and do they cover resupply and town stops along the way like the AT guidebooks?

[Mags]

Chaco,

I strongly urge you to read the document I wrote at:
http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.ph...rail_info.html

Once you read this doc, you may find most of your questions are answered.

There is no "Town guide" per se (unless you count my modest doc) for the CT. In fact, there is only one guidebook along with a databook. There is none of this "we'll take you by the hand and get you to the end" like other trails that rhyme with A and T.

If it was me, read my doc for town info, bring the appropriate maps (yes, you need maps) and buy the databook. The guidebook may be better if you prefer something more verbose than reading a map. The trail is fairly well marked..but it is not the AT.

[CrumbSnatcher]

will the el nino' winter affect the trail or the starting times this year?

[Mags]

Hard to say. January has been mild..but as Garlic said, there can always be April snow dumps (or even May)

[Chaco Taco]

Well Wakapak and I have talked at length about this and we want to do it. Soooo we are going to get married in April, and are gonna take a short trip the day after our wedding. Then, around June 26th, we are going to fly to Denver and spend the day, then catch a ride down to a section of the CT and hike for 5-6 days. Mags, Im on it. Im going to print out your article to read with Wak. Really stoked about this trip. There is a litte interesting backgorund for this. I have never been west of the Mississippi River!!!!! SO I am really really pumped about seeing the Mountains of Colorado and hiking over a few of them.

[Chaco Taco]

So Mags, i read the article. Very informative! It helped alot. We ordered the guidebook and the Data Book today. Going to try and get maps as well so we can have something to carry with us but may try and get them used first.
Now we have to decide what sections to do. I want to do some of the 14ers like Elbert and Massive. So throw out some favorite sections for us.

[jnflas91]

Mags, I wanted to say thanks for the document you wrote. I thru hiked the CT in 09 and used it a bunch. San Juans were great!

[Chaco Taco]

Mags, I wanted to say thanks for the document you wrote. I thru hiked the CT in 09 and used it a bunch. San Juans were great!

I have been exploring the site Mags has set up and think it is top notch. Great resource for hiking. The pics aint half bad either.

[Mags]

Thanks for the kind words!

If you can, do the section in the San Juans..primo hiking.

From a logistic standpoint, start at the Gold Hill th (near Breck/Frisco, easy access via public transit), and hike south to Twin Lakes. At 72 miles, it is a chill 14 MPD and goes through some nice scenery. If you are feeling good, you can tag Elbert and Massive as well.

Get into Leadville to end the trip (they'll shuttle you to frisco or copper and easily get back to Denver. )

The Leadville Hostel is awesome!

[Chaco Taco]

Thinking about the last 70 miles into Durango. Nean is with us right now and he has told us about the San Juans and Im hooked!!! Possibly the last 70 miles into Durango.

[McPick]

Hi ya Chaco. Congratulations to you and Wakapak, We met briefly on the AT in '08 as I completed the Hanover to Monson leg of my thru effort from '06.

I hiked much of the CT last fall, until Mother Nature and Ol' Man Winter teamed up with lightening bolts to convinced me to get off at Lake City... Just east of Silverton. Sad for me because I lived in Durango for 16 years and was really looking forward to "walking home." through the San Juans. Oh well... Another day...

You are correct in realizing Mr. Mags document is outstanding... Vital!! His work, coupled with the resources you've ordered will make planning your trip much smoother.

Couple of ideas for you... If you decide to hike the Molas Pass to Durango section, I'd suggest you fly into Durango (Denver to Durango is a long drive and a 1 hour flight.) and arrange for a lift up to Molas. (I may be able to assist you securing a ride.) Grab an inexpensive motel in town (which none are, but the Chamber of Commerce can assist you there.) There are several major grocery stores in Durango and a bus system as well. http://www.durangogov.org/transit/

You may want to watch the snow depth at the Purgatory Ski Area (aka Durango Mt Resort, located maybe 5 miles + or - below Molas Pass). It's now is 61". With a couple of months more snow potential (and there are those heavy, wet Spring snows...) it could easily get much deeper. Chances are, even if you go in early summer, you will likely encounter some snow fields along the route. (If you decide to hike other sections you can watch snow depths at other ski areas as well. Breckenridge, Copper Mt, Cooper Mt and Vail. All much closer to Leadville.

The elevation at Molas Pass is 10,910'. The elevation Durango is 6,512'. This is kind of a "good news, bad news" situation. The good news is that instead of starting off at lower elevation, beginning at Molas already gets you up there. The trail stays above 10,000 feet for the next 50 miles or so, but eventually it does drop down into the Junction Creek drainage which dumps in to the Animas River in Durango. Mags may be able to tell you about how many days this hike could take. I planned for 8 but just because I wanted to take my time.

The bad news may be that no matter where you hike on the CT, the elevation will affect you physically. Acclimation can take days... Some say weeks. The trail itself in so many locations is more of a gravel path... WAY different that you encountered on the AT. No swamp boardwalks and the like. Even the scramble up Mt Massive wasn't the boulder hop I expected. Some, but mostly a well maintained trail. However, no matter where you decide to go, the higher elevations will affect you. So be prepared and just take your time. With only 5 days on the trail, don't expect the higher mile days you're used to on the AT. In fact, the whole mind set is different than on the AT. You're going out there to enjoy the hike and the views. I was so lucky to climb Mt Massive on what started off as a completely blue sky day. It didn't start snowing until I was almost at the summit!!

The public transportation system around Breckenridge and Copper Mt is fabulous and free. I stayed at the hostel in Breck, took the bus to Copper and hiked back to Breck. Next day I took the bus back to Copper and hiked to Leadville and stayed at the hostel there. I had no trouble hitchhiking anywhere either.

Keep in touch if you wish. Otherwise have a great CT hike.

Rick

See ya!

PS Ever hear from Wildflowers??

[Chaco Taco]

Yea i do remember you. I havent talked to Wildflowers much since Gorham.

Thanks for the info. We are thinking about the last 110 miles outta Durango. We have friends in and around Durango. Thanks for the well wishes, will keep in touch.

[Chaco Taco]

Going to fly into Albequerque, NM instead of Denver since we are doing the southern sections.

[Chaco Taco]

So I think we have decided to do Eddiesville Trailhead to Molas Pass. Thats about 80 miles in 6 days. I feel like that will be doable for us. Plus with the long days we can get in a random 14 or 15. I feel good with 12-15 mile average.
So I guess Ill start looking at getting from Denver to Creede when we fly in on July 1 or 2.